Jordan Hicks had a rough couple of months to start the season with San Francisco. He switched coasts in the Rafael Devers trade, yet the change of scenery didn’t help. In his first month with his new team, the right-handed reliever had a 4.91 ERA a 1.636 WHIP.
Yet Hicks felt encouraged after something clicked in Houston. He told reporters that he’d “take some ownership, throw the pitch I know is right and have that conviction.”
Nearly a month later, that new approach has not helped.
Hicks was called upon to replace Brennan Bernardino with two outs in the top of the first on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, a planned bullpen game for Alex Cora’s team after winning the first two games of the series against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. With Cleveland already up 1-0 and with a runner on first base, Hicks actually came through with a strikeout to end the inning, needing just three pitches to retire Jhonkensy Noel.
It was a positive step, but the good feelings were short-lived.
With Hicks being sent back out for the second inning, Bo Naylor led off with a double before No. 7 hitter Gabriel Arias sent a 414-foot homer flying over the left field wall.
C.J. Kayfus then followed that one with a ground-rule double to right, and then No. 9 hitter Brayan Rocchio singled.
Both of the runners left on base by Hicks scored, giving him the ugliest of final lines: four hits, four runs (all earned) in just 1/3 of an inning.
(Of note: Cleveland entered the game with an MLB-worst .224 team batting average, scoring the fourth-fewest runs in baseball this season while ranking second-to-last in team OPS.)
On a night when the Red Sox could have used an emotional lift after learning that Roman Anthony is likely out of the rest of the season with an oblique strain, Hicks’ outing ensured that the team — and the home fans — would be in for a long, painful evening. After taking a 7-1 lead in the second inning, the Guardians went on to win 8-1.
Hicks entered the game with a 6.38 ERA since joining the Red Sox. That ERA is now up to 8.20. His WHIP with the Red Sox is at 1.982.
Including his 13 appearances with the Giants, his ERA sits at 6.95 on the year.
Clearly, the “dominant late-inning reliever” that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow welcomed back in June has not panned out for the Red Sox.
To a large extent, that should have been expected. Despite elite velocity, Hicks has never fulfilled the dreams that numerous GMs have had for him in the big leagues. From 2018-23, he made 212 appearances and posted a 3.85 ERA with a 1.299 WHIP. His strikeout totals were high, but so were his walk totals.
Regardless, the Giants gave Hicks a four-year deal in free agency in 2024, reportedly outbidding Boston for the reliever’s services. Yet just a year later, after Hicks had compiled a 5-12 record, 4.83 ERA and 1.478 WHIP, the Giants were comfortable shipping him to Boston in the Devers deal.
It’s most likely his inclusion in that franchise-altering trade and the two years left on his contract that have kept Hicks on the roster to this point. He hasn’t pitched like a big league pitcher, and as the season has gone on, he’s made it increasingly clear that Alex Cora can’t trust him in any big moments … or even, apparently, in the second inning of a 1-0 game.
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